Six sigma in service sector; an application in Izmir Alsancak Harbour

Six Sigma is a statistical management tool which aims to improve efficiency. It has proved to be successful, predominantly in the production sector. More recently, Six Sigma has achieved success in improving quality in the service industry. The article presents an example of Six Sigma's application to Alsancak Harbour, which is very important to the Agean area. The five primary components of Six Sigma are; define, measure, analyze, improve and control. The researchers utilized the first three steps in order to detect the main problems in the service industry. In the 'define' step of Six Sigma, the experts compared their predictions of waiting time with the ship's actual waiting time. Two different scales were developed for harbour operations employees and agencies. Then survey data was carefully collected on a face-to-face basis. Chi-Square, Pareto Analysis, Factor Analysis, and Kilcik Diagrams were used to analyze the data. In the end, the problems which were negatively affecting the ship's waiting time were able to be identified and solved. Once the research was complete, the results and suggestions were presented. The research was presented within the frame of the Izmir Alsancak Harbour's service industry. Suggestions were also presentated for future Six Sigma projects for the harbour. Additonally, the paper is important for the Izmir Alsancak Harbour's service industry because it is the first application of Six Sigma to the harbour's operations. Key words: Six Sigma, Harbour, Service Quality